In late November, Prince William visited a hotel full of Afghan refugees. The refugees were extracted from Afghanistan as part of Britain’s Operation Pitting over the summer, as coalition forces withdrew and thousands of Afghan citizens fled the country as the Taliban took control. The British resettlement organization seems a bit thrown together, and there are many stories of Afghan refugees in England feeling like they might have been better off if they stayed in Afghanistan. When William visited the refugees, he didn’t bring anything and he didn’t use his visit to highlight any of the local or national programs designed to help the refugees. He just showed up and thought his keenness was support enough. But wait! It turns out that in addition to bring nothing to the table, William also said vague words about how everybody else should have done a better job. Thank you, Commander Keen.
Prince William privately told Afghan refugees they “couldn’t be more welcome” in the UK as he expressed frustration at the failure to evacuate more people fleeing the Taliban, it has been reported. The Duke of Cambridge is said to have made the comments during a visit to meet some of those who managed to get to the UK after escaping Kabul as it fell to the militants during the summer.
Two decades of British engagement in the South Asia country came to an end on 28 August as the final remaining military and diplomatic personnel left Kabul airport, ending the largest evacuation mission since WWII. Operation Pitting airlifted more than 15,000 British nationals and allied personnel, thousands of Afghans among them, to safety in little under a fortnight.
The UK government also set up a resettlement scheme which committed to taking around 20,000 Afghans over the coming years. But thousands of Afghans were left behind in the extraction, including interpreters who worked for the British army but were not allowed to come to the UK. Thousands of those who have managed to resettle in the UK remain in temporary accommodation and have not yet been housed amid a shortage of social housing.
One refugee, who reportedly met Prince William on a visit to a hotel in Leeds last month, said the duke regretted that more people were not evacuated in August.
“He said he was frustrated at the withdrawal effort in August,” the person told The Times. “He said he wished we could have brought more people to the UK.” Another refugee said: “He asked us: ‘Why is it taking so long to get into permanent homes?’”. He also reportedly told refugees that he “wanted the wider country to be more supportive towards refugees”.
Again, let’s underline this: “He asked us: ‘Why is it taking so long to get into permanent homes?’” HE ASKED THE REFUGEES. Prince William the Tory Puppet did not criticize or question his Tory puppet masters to their faces. He didn’t call up his former private secretary and current high-ranking Tory civil servant Simon Case and register his formal royal disappointment with the state of conditions for refugees. William didn’t speak to his friends in the military or diplomatic service about why they didn’t do more to bring even more refugees into the UK. William just wandered around a group of refugees and asked them why Britain didn’t do more, and why their British settlement situation was so FUBAR. William is so utterly useless. A hedgehog in jeggings would have been more productive during these events.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instar.
What a useless prick.
Yep. He’s so entitled and the thought he should do something is beyond his scope of reasoning. He’s so dim and has no idea how much more dumb this makes him look. He’s literally just like Chuck in his inability to empathize.
Yeah, he really thinks “gracing” them with his presence was a gift to them.
To be fair, that’s not completely true for Charles, who established the Prince’s Trust more than 40 years ago, and has had other education, employment, etc. initiatives established since then. When it comes to people/issues closer to home, let’s just say he doesn’t appear to let compassion get in the way of his personal interests.
William, on the other hand, is uniquely unable to so much as pretend to relate to anyone or anything outside his immediate circle of interest, or even sound like he knows what he’s talking about. He is figuratively, and literally, nothing but a tool.
The difference between William and Prince Charles is that Charles would have done something. He would have read his briefing materials, come up with a plan on what to do for the refugees, and he would have sent one of his letters to various government officials haranguing them for not doing more. It is incredible that Diana and Charles could have produced such a useless individual.
As someone who learned about “liberty village” and how to purchase much needed supplies only through the visit by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s visit what a waste. I was looking for a Charity to give to at Christmas and I truly enjoyed my shopping for the families being relocated that are in transition in New Jersey.. it is that simple and he and his staff just are utterly clueless. Until they grow beyond the middle school popularity competition mentality making everything about themselves there legacy of useless photo ops will continue.
Well, in William’s defense, how COULD he talk to Tories in the British government directly. He was too busy plotting with Jason Knauf on how to sabotage his sister-in-law’s legal case against the Daily Fail. You see, that was far more important to him and his family.
or, like Chandler arguing with Monica making him run: it would interfere with his plans to lay around.
William reminds me of Selina in “Veep” visiting the Sudanese woman under house arrest. Selina brings flowers that have to be watered twice a day, only to be told, “We have no water here.” Selina: “That’s fine, I’ll just put it with the recycling.” Nyaring: “That is my bed.”
At least Selina didn’t show up empty-handed…
It’s so hard not to compare this interaction with the way Meghan and Harry have treated refugees. I don’t understand why William is missing a compassion chip. He continually does the BARE MINIMUM and with so much power and influence at his disposal…. is just useless. Really disappoints me.
I understand some people are not that compassionate or just “cold” and not than charismatic, what I don’t understand is lack of soft skills all of us need to acquire to be moderately successful at work. I took part in several training where I LEARNED strategies on how to talk to people in various situations, how to present myself etc. It can be learned if it doesn’t come naturally to you. You don’t have to be amazing, ok is enough.
Btw, I am sure Meg is acting in a very conscious way, and I mean that positively – she knows how she wants to be perceived and prepares. If you don’t learn, prepare, even try, there will be this repeated idiotic behavior. Will is doing the job his is obviously not qualified for.
This smacks of KP PR bods still trying to counter the affair flurry on Twitter with ‘See, look, he cares!’ nonsense. I mean, what reporter is going back in January to people Wills met in November to get the “latest” news??
Also ETA to say I don’t believe for a second than William gives a s**t about the wellbeing of refugees.
In all fairness, if that was the idea behind this story then they are complete idiots. And if they can’t see it, then they are all doomed.
Yup, this is #princewilliamafghanrefugees, to replace #princewilliamaffair.
This is soooo obvious, especially after #princewilliamaffordablehousing.
Bloody hell I didn’t even think of that. Lol. Now I have visions of them all frantically brainstorming other ‘af’ words to get out stories about….
Also IF Wills did care about refugees and is genuine about affordable housing then it seems to me that the answer to his question is staring him right in the face…
@The Hench
#PrinceWilliamAflacInsurance
#PrinceWilliamAffyTapple
#PrinceWilliamAffenpinscher
#PrinceWilliamAfternoonDelight…wait, wait, no, #PrinceWilliamAfternoonTea
@CC – thank you. Now chuckling. AfternoonDelight…chortle.
@CC – the comment of the week! Thanks for making my day.
@ CC, your skills are a thing of beauty to behold!!!
A lovely thought to look and ponder for the entire day!!!
BTW, since Baldingham was there to visit in February, what has he done since then to address the needs of the Afghans? Just thought I would ask…….
Good Lord, the CIA needs you, Lauren. I am so embarrassed I didn’t make that conclusion! We are going to be flooded with every single thing that could replace #princewilliamaffair, via RR.
@cc 😂😂😂 that is hilarious
I feel like this is pretty standard for him, to kind of wander around and ask a question like that, because it clearly only occurs to him when he’s there meeting with people. he didn’t criticize the Tory government over it because he doesn’t think that way. he went home and never thought about those refugees again. he was probably like, huh, you’ve been here since August, why aren’t you in permanent housing yet, that seems wrong, and then went home and had a G&T and watched the Aston Villa game and that was it.
I doubt he cares what happens to them or their housing, Becks1. This was another attempt by courtiers to pretend William is a hero instead of an open racist.
Becks, that is exactly how I imagine Willnot bumbling through life. He has NO CLUE, about any of it.
Problem with a monarchy: an idiot can be a king…..as long as he comes out of the right uterus first. Case in point: William
What a waste. And why is this story coming out now? Perhaps seeing what Harry and Meghan have done to assist Afghan refugees prompted this leak to the Times.
Why doesn’t he ask the government why the government doesn’t do more? Once he is Duke of Cornwall he will set them up with Duchy housing (LOL). A quote he should hear: “I asked, ‘Why doesn’t somebody do something,’ then realized I Was somebody”
That’s a great quote.
And let’s compare this to Meghan, who visited the Hubb kitchen and when she was told they were only open two days a week, she asked why, and was told “funding.” She didn’t shrug her shoulders and go home. That’s where the cookbook idea came from. So she asked a question about what she saw to be a problem, got an answer, and came up with an idea for that problem.
meanwhile PWT just wanders around like he’s fixing things but then leaves and that’s the end of it.
That’s all that William thinks should happen. He opens his mouth, mumbles something, and the world must fall at his feet and ‘fix it’ because he sort of kind of said so.
Perhaps he’s “bored” with the Afghan exit.
@ Debbie, well he is trying to get his affairs in order.
Seriously. Go meet with your own government. Or at least say that you will. Of course, he knows he won’t, so the only thing he can do is ask rhetorical questions while pretending that it’s an unknowable problem.
He needs to look into medical intervention for his Foot-in-Mouth Syndrome. He always says some dumb shit. At least he didn’t tell them he was bored? I guess?
Sorta like being bored with racism. From Billy the basher, to silly willy the incandescent rage monster. What a ffk. Nothing to be proud of.
Meghan and Harry donated and highlighted Amazon links to donate. People were inspired to donate. This is embarrassing. The royal way of highlighting important issues for a day and then walking away is a mockery.
I know a more useless thing than a hedgehog in jeggings, and it’s – Mumbles McBlumbles, Mutton McButtons, Duchess Doolittle, king maker and competition slayer, top CEO and stalker extraordinaire, first of her name – in jeggings.
He just wants to look smart and so he’ll ask these questions. It’s pretty standard of him. But if he really wants to help Afghan refugees, he certainly could. He shouldn’t be asking them.
Is this too political for a Royal to ask? Thinking what pearls would be clutched if Harry or Meghan asked this.
All I’m going to say is this is very on-brand for William.
If anyone else showed up to visit Afghan refugees without bringing anything and asking silly questions, they would be dragged for it.
“William didn’t speak to his friends in the military or diplomatic service about why they didn’t do more to bring even more refugees into the UK. William just wandered around a group of refugees and asked them why “
It’s kind of a conflict of interest and why I find the royal “role” of visiting charities to praise them, interesting. Charities are to fill a void for people’s need that govt didn’t provide for. The royals are govt adjacent (or above?) if I have this correct, Diana was controversial for visiting land mines in Africa and aids patients in USA because she put herself at risk. (Not really for aids since hiv is not airborne, but there was a stigma creating fear.) she didnt, as far as I know, visit a uk aids charity and ask why the govt doesn’t help? So even though wills choice seems less controversial because everyone is on board with helping refugees and meeting them isn’t dangerous, I guess he didn’t think it through that bringing attention to them reflects poorly on the govt, thus you have to be careful what you say and ask and how your react. I’m pretty sure his role is not to criticize the Govt of the UK!
I guess his only role is to criticize the people on the African continent for having “too many” children. That’s not political at all, is it? Sure.
A hedgehog in jeggings Kaiser? I can now die happy. Lol.
This is like when William said he was bored with racism. He really thinks that showing up somewhere and giving his opinion is the equivalent of doing something. He has deigned to give them his attention and declare something important. Now all the little people need to jump to it and do something because the future future king has said something.
There will be zero follow up though. Because William doesn’t care and is probably already distracted with something else.
This guy has friends in the highest level of government but he’s asking these people who got out with nothing what his government is doing? Shouldn’t he be the one telling them that? Over privileged and underprepared.
re: L4Frimaire says: Over privileged and underprepared.
Perfectly stated!
I understand how tone deaf his question may be but ill just say this – i kind of think its ok he asked – as he’s asking the people directly affected about what they are being told is the delay and what their experience is. If he asked those high up in government he would get a government ‘answer’. Of course he could have asked in a better way – how can we help?/what is the biggest obstacle you’re facing to get into housing? Etc.
He’s second in line to the throne. If he asks his buddies in government, he’s not going to get a “government” answer like you and I would.
Yet another thing I find baffling. W&K are so keen to copy H&M – why don’t they copy the things that would actually help people? It’s not a big chore for Will to bring some gifts – just have his minions find out what’s needed.
William saying hes frustrated with government efforts on evacuation sounds political. Interesting there’s no outcry. Did William post on KP social media about tangible ways to welcome Afghan refugees? Did he donate to any orgs supporting their resettlement or highlight any orgs to support?
Sorry to do this but such a contrast with Harry& Meghan who highlighted & donated to charities assisting with the evacuation when the Taliban took over. Then visited a school in New Jersey with evacuees & highlighted via their Christmas card & donated to orgs like Team Rubicon helping with resettlement. Much more effective.
This is William in a nutshell: always complaining, always scolding others, always being “disappointed” and “frustrated” without bringing anything of substance to the table.
“Woke” Bill is trashed in DF comment section. His words, as meaningless as they are, annoyed his fan base. Not one positive comment on Wills for his (false, as we know) care. Not one empathetic comment towards refugees. DF readers are something, sorry for generalization.
Just to think that this is the most read paper/site in Britain makes me shudder.
Notice how TOB did nothing to assist when it mattered. This crisis really came to a head during August 2021. Wasn’t that smack dab in the middle of the Cambridges 2-month vacation? You know, that stretch between Wimbledon and the James Bond premiere when no one saw them? It’s very on-brand for him to criticize the people who showed up and put their lives on the line to make things work in the worst of circumstances. So yeah, skip Charles because this human cold sore is so ready to be king.
Let them eat cake.
There was an article on the NY Post back in Sept. claiming that PW used personal contacts to get one family a way out of Kabul. Why didn’t he do something for more people at that time? (Assuming there’s any truth to the story)
I mean, are any of us surprised? This is the Cambridge way, show up completely uninformed and work hard to stay that way. I’m still mad he didn’t at least deliver some supplies when he visited (seriously, the photo ops alone…if they still have the Sussex’s old social media person, they must just sob themselves to sleep at the sheer incompetence).
Instead, he honours them with his presence and a halfhearted wish to “do more” without any inconvenient specifics. He wants credit for being keen to someday perhaps think about doing something.
“He also reportedly told refugees that he “wanted the wider country to be more supportive towards refugees”.”
Yeah, I do not believe that at ALL. It just seems AWFULLY CONVENIENT to me that this information is coming out, and just so happens to be about William saying something that’s totally not at all like what the official Tory party line is on these matters. How interesting.
Some context: BoJo and the Tories are getting hammered in the opinion polls and the press. People are not happy with them for a variety of reasons, not including the pandemic, the shambles that continues to be the aftermath of Brexit. In addition to that, this is a political party that campaigns and profits off of stoking xenophobia and racism among its voters.
William, for a few years now, has increasingly chosen to ally himself with this reprobate political party. His private secretary used to work for Boris Johnson. He has other staff members who handle communications and budget related matters who also worked for the Tory govt. He cultivates press relationships with political editors in papers like the DM and the Times and the Telegraph. Most importantly, he has chosen to silently link himself to a party of venal racists and xenophobes, who, recently, when a boat carrying refugees crossing the channel capsized, had the audacity to do nothing but shrug and smugly proclaim that those refugees should have known better than to bother trying to come to Britain. Suddenly, THIS man is apparently all chummy with refugees and concerned about the rates at which they’re being resettled??? Yeah. Right. SURE.
One of two things are probably happening here. First is that William knows the Tories are on their way out, or at least BoJo and his current crew are. So he’s attempting to distance himself from them by seemingly disagreeing with them or appearing like he’s been critical of them.
The second, more interesting idea, is that he’s trying to reorient himself to what might be an official change in Tory policy towards immigration and refugees. Brexit has cratered their economy. There are labour shortages all over the place. I read recently in the Guardian that Britain, desperately seeking increased trade with India, is planning on offering to relax the visa requirements for Indian nationals to make it easier for them to work and settle in Britain, as part of a trade deal. It’s could be that William knows about this, and is doing some legwork to help the Tories out by being seen as more receptive to refugees and immigrants.
Another prospect is that, with the whole brouhaha on Twitter with Richard Eden, the knowledge that William is a racist is more widely known than ever. This might be another way they’re trying to counter that, by saying, “See, he’s NOT racist, he’s wondering why there aren’t MORE Afghan refugees in Britain. Look at how not racist he is!!!”
But either way, I ain’t buying it. And no one else should either.
Very interesting. I just wonder if he (or the courtiers) are smart enough to have thought of all of this. It seems more likely that he was just trying to copy M&H. I would actually be a little impressed if he was trying to play chess.
I don’t think this is chess. I also don’t think this is William trying to emulate M&H, for the simple reason that he doesn’t want to emulate them. He doesn’t agree with any of the causes M&H are trying to support. He thinks they’re way too woke and millenial for the monarchy. So why would he, or his courtiers, seek to emulate them? The reality is much more likely that William is surrounded by Tory supporters and reactionaries, purely bc of how these things function within the aristocracy and the circles that William moves in.
The other thing is that it’s awfully convenient that this information came out at this particular time, when the Tories are facing criticism from pretty much all quarters. If he really said all of those things to the refugees, why didn’t that information get put out sooner, like say, around the time that the engagement took place? There’s no way William wouldn’t have jumped on an immediate chance for good press. Why is this story only coming out now?
Plus, the quotes themselves….they do not sound authentic. Maybe the refugees he met with actually did say them, maybe the quotes provided are being paraphrased from another source who was there, I dunno. Either way. The quote are just wayyy too pointed for me to not side eye them. “He wanted the wider country to be more supportive towards refugees.” This quote almost 3 weeks after 26 refugees died trying to cross the English channel in a boat, a direct consequence of Britain’s immigration policies, and barely 3 days after the British home minister Priti Patel stated that one of her policy goals for the next year was to tighten asylum laws to crack down on people making “spurious” claims.
It’s not chess as much as it’s just trying to place a story that seemingly came out of nowhere into a larger context. I don’t think all of it can be explained away by just saying he wants to copy M&H. There are definitely motivations at work for William outside of that too.
Kate made Meghan cry and allowed the lie to fester for nearly four years. With the help of the pirates with a press pass, KP staff tried unsuccessfully to rewrite the narrative. The only thing Kate can do to make her birthday a notable event she removes the mask, stand up, be a woman and admit the story is not valid. Okay, I know I’m dreaming, but that’s her only salvation in my book.
My brother’s birthday is January 9th, so I’ll be celebrating his life instead.
I don’t know, why doesn’t he go ask his Tory friends and get back to us?
I’m surprised to learn of UK news reports of Afghans in the UK wondering whether they’d be better off in Afghanistan since more than half of the population (23 million people) currently faces insecurity in Afghanistan, per the World Food Programme https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/12/1106912#:~:text=As%20a%20result%2C%20some%2023,life%2Dthreatening%20consequences%20of%20malnutrition. I used to work in Afghanistan and all the Afghans I’ve been in contact with who are still in Afghanistan are very eager to leave.